SAVE OLD RED!The Incredibly ad hoc Committee
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Dear People:
As you can tell from the enclosed press release, a big piece of history is about to be destroyed unless we act quickly!
This letter is a shot in the dark, since I have no idea how much room you have to store or display the body and interior of the Mark III Monorail (the undercarriage will be remanufactured for the new Mark V). But the importance of the Mark III is absolutely indisputable. The new monorails at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are radically different from the Mark III. Gone are the bright colors and stainless steel sides. Gone is the distinctive bubble top in which every child wanted to ride.
The Mark III is the last surviving example of the way we envisioned the future of rail transportation from a 1950s perspective. Its relevance to the history of science, electricity, and transportation is overwhelming: the Disneyland Monorail System was the first regularly operating monorail system in the western hemisphere. It was the first monorail in the US to cross a public thoroughfare. In 1987, it was declared a National Historic Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. But the Monorail System is more than just concrete beams and whatever happens to be gliding across it at the moment. The look of the original monorail trains themselves is as much an historic landmark as the overall system. Do we think of railroad tracks and the new diesels when we remember nostalgically the steam engines of yesteryear? No. We exalt the beauty of the venerable machines. So should it be with Old Red.
I implore you to make an effort to save the last surviving Mark III Monorail. If you can't, perhaps you know someone who can and will. Please spread the word. I am writing similar letters to about 100 other museums in the hope that someone will be inspired to rescue this grand machine from the jaws of the metal shredder. You may know of someone I don't, though. Someone who may have said, "Boy, I'd love to have that in my museum!" but never thought the day would come. It has. And it is coming all too swiftly.
There are precedents regarding Disney donating material to outside organizations. A gazebo that used to stand in Main St. USA's Town Square was disassembled and donated years ago to Roger's Gardens, a commercial florist in Corona del Mar. A train station set from the Disney Ranch was given (by Walt) to animator Ward Kimball for his home landscaping. I firmly believe that the Walt Disney Company will happily donate the body of Old Red to you if you simply offer to care for the vehicle. They probably won't charge anything if you can convince them that the good press from such a donation (including shipping!) would be a great way to publicize their All-New Mark V Monorail Trains.
I have already been getting superb coverage on this--my first radio interview aired throughout the day yesterday on KNX-AM NewsRadio, one of the largest stations in the nation. I'm absolutely certain that media in your area, not to mention across the nation, would give heavy publicity to the arrival of Old Red.
According to Bob Roth, Disney Company is still open to offers to save Old Red. Please grab that phone and call them today!
Urgently and sincerely yours,
Victor Koman |